Under My Skin
by AngelEyes87
Summary: Let's face it, ex boyfriends can be annoying, especially if you can't stop thinking about them. In order to clear her mind of Hwoarang, Asuka goes to the gym which turns out to be a big mistake as she encounters him much to her frustration...One-shot.


**A/N: **Have you ever found yourself watching these talk shows or even a film on TV in which a man and a woman breaks up then by the end of it all, they end up back together again despite what happened in the past between them? Needless to say I quite find it interesting but at the same time completely strange. A part of me thinks to myself "Don't they remember WHY they broke up in the damn first place?!" :P Ah well, this one-shot is about Asuka and Hwoarang and to her much displeasure and annoyance Asuka finds herself having feelings for ex even though she refuses to admit it out loud to herself. And well Hwoarang ,being the lovable jackass about it, decides to the bug the hell out of her thus pissing her off even more while at the same time trying to convince herself she no longer feels affection even though it is obvious. Anyway I hope you enjoy this :D

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Asuka and Hwoarang or any other Tekken characters for that matter. They belong to Namco. Oh, and when Tekken 6 comes out buy the damn game, people!

**Under My Skin**

**By AngelEyes87**

Damn it! Why is it out of _all _the people in the world, I have to think about him?! No matter where I go, even when it's clothes shopping or whatever, or when I relentlessly train in the gym to prefect my skills, there _he _was. Not physically though, mind you; just that I envision his handsome face with that ever so cocky grin (that used to make me feel so warm inside, but not anymore) in my head. It almost feels like as if he is an incurable disease, lurking under my skin, spreading like wildfire throughout my body, infecting me even further. And that annoying _infection _was called Hwoarang, a fellow Iron Fist tournament fighter. A major pain in the ass if you ask me.

You see, me and him dated for a bit – six months to be precise. I know what you may be thinking right now: How the hell can two people who absolutely don't get on at all, who are at each other's throats constantly, ever managed to be in a relationship together? Well to be honest, I don't know exactly. Totally unexpected, it was something out of the ordinary. Unbelievable, but very true. Even when I was with the guy, I would often question myself why exactly did he choose me to be his girlfriend. But what I do know is it was a mistake – yes, that's right! – that I don't want to be _repeated _again! I realised that soon after when I actually saw that stuck-up snobby bitch, and my rival for that matter, Lili Rochefort _literally _clinging onto Hwoarang's arm like some love-sick puppy while they were going God knows where. Take it from me, they were fucking lucky that I didn't storm up to them and give them a good ass-kicking. Needless to say the bastard didn't get away with what he done as later on that night I split up with him. It was all over, finito, done!

Still, it was two weeks since I ended our relationship. I couldn't give a shit what or who he was doing right now, he's more or less a free agent and he's welcomed to do what he damn well pleased. Sure, I knew full well that he was participating in the Sixth Iron Fist tournament, like I was, as it started a week ago. Hwoarang's inevitable appearance in the contest didn't bother me at all. Just as long as he stays the hell out of my way then hey, everything is all dandy as far as I'm concerned. And I was confident I would succeed no matter what, even if it meant Lili would suffer yet_ another_ humiliating defeat by my own hands. _Please, _I managed to kick her ass in the previous tournament so I can easily do it again. As for my ex, I heard rumours that a few days after the last contest Hwoarang ran into my cousin Jin Kazama whom was in his 'devil' form. Apparently they were engaged in a fierce battle which resulted in Hwoarang being rendered unconscious, staying in hospital for a good few days.

When I first heard of the news, I burst out laughing. Perhaps Hwoarang was drunk out of his mind that night when the incident happened, fell off his motorcycle in an accident or something, and suffered injuries because of it. But the more that I thought about it, the more I realised that the encounter _did_ happen to Hwoarang. Especially when Jin, being the cold hearted dickhead that he is, has brought about a destructive war across the world – all thanks to him being declared as the proud yet arrogant owner of the Mishima Zaibatsu. Pfft, knowing Hwoarang he was in this tournament due to the fact he wanted a rematch with Jin to claim vengeance. Nothing _unusual_ about that! A knight in shining armour Hwoarang was not; more like a demented idiot in tin-foil high on testosterone as it would seem.

Hmm, maybe I'm going a little off subject...Sorry, my bad. Anyway back to what I was saying earlier on, all that I could think about was Hwoarang much to my frustration. To say the least the obvious fact really has pissed me off further more. It's not that I am trying to _remember _him for God's sake, it was nothing like that at all. I don't know how this has happened, but it would seem that he was living inside of my mind without paying the damn rent. No matter how hard I tried to forget about him, it just wouldn't work! I mean, whoever said the stupid saying 'Out of sight, out of mind' should definitely be shot as it wasn't working for me, thank you very much. Plenty of times I have had sleepless nights, tossing and turning in bed while _dreaming _of him. Various dreams in which we were either playing arcade games in the local mall, eating ice cream by the beach, and so on. Most recent dream I had was of our first ever date, of us shaking our asses on the dance floor in some new night club I forget the name of, getting extremely wasted in the process. Not a good idea in drinking so much that the next morning I woken up with a dreadful hangover, but at least we had some fun that night. And no, we didn't end up in bed together if that's what you're thinking either.

Tonight was no exception as my thoughts were invaded once again by the infuriating Korean. There I was, just laying face down on my stomach, playing Soul Calibur 4 on the PS3 in my hotel room. Yep, I managed to sneak in my beloved console into my bag so I play it in the hotel during the tournament, but that's beside the point...Anyways I was playing as Seong Mina (one of the most kick-ass female fighters in the game!) and I was up against Yun Seong. The trouble was Yun Seong rather did _remind _me of Hwoarang what with the striking similarities as such. The _same _fiery red hair, the _same _physique, the _same _self-assured and playful attitude, the _same _kicking techniques for fuck's sake. I was pretty convinced that Namco, the company of Soul Calibur, deliberately base Yun Seong _after _Hwoarang. Cheeky bastards, that's all I can say to that...

Growling with rage, I abruptly turned off the PS3 as well as the TV, forcing myself to sit up on the bed with my knees to my chest as I was silently seething with an unspeakable fury. How dare he?! Why the hell does _he _have to ruin my goddamn evening? Ugh! So this is how I am going to spend the rest of my life, thinking about my ex day in and day out, huh? Well, that certainly isn't going to happen – not if I can help it! Quit thinking about him, Asuka Kazama, and start living your own life! I have no choice but to move on and find somebody else in the future to come. That sounds about right to me. Without a shadow of a doubt Hwoarang will end with another girl, sexing her senseless, taking her out on dates and teaching her a spot of Tae Kwon Do – the things that he used to do with me. If I weren't concerned with him whatsoever then why the hell am I feeling so jealous? Oh shit, this wasn't good. Perhaps a change of scenery would make a slight difference. I glanced quickly at my alarm clock on the bedside cabinet, noticing it was ten to eight. Hmm...I think practicing at the gym would suffice for now as there would be hardly anyone there so no one will interrupt me. Plus the fact I could find some sort of pleasure in _pretending_ that the punching bag was in fact Hwoarang to vent out my frustrations.

After climbing off the bed and grabbing my MP3 player along with my headphones, I left my room. Once I shut the door, I put one of the headphones in my right ear, leaving my left ear free, pressed play and lazily shoved my MP3 player into my jean's pockets. The sound of Beyonce Knowles' singing _Sweet Dreams _was blaring in my ear as I started to head down the stairs, walking right out of the exit of the hotel into the outside world. It wasn't long before I entered the gym building which was about a minute's walk or so from the hotel. I was determined to get a few good hours of training tonight and I won't quit until sweat is coming out of my pores, until I'm feeling really tired. Not to mention the fact I wanted to distract myself of thinking about Hwoarang. I couldn't help but to grin from the sheer pleasure of it – what a good plan! That meant that hopefully tonight my dreams will be none-Hwoarang ones. How awesome is that!

Completely satisfied, I cheerfully began singing along with Beyonce, "_Tattoo your name across my heart so it will remain. Not even death can make us part...You could be a sweet dream or a beautiful nightmare. Either way I-_"

I came to an abrupt halt outside the entrance of the room, my singing ceased as my mouth dropped in disbelief. My eyes widened a considerable amount; I stood rooted to the same spot on the floor, completely frozen, not believing quite what I was seeing right in front of me. I don't believe it...it was _him_! No, I wasn't seeing things – honest to God – nor was I imagining him in my head. A few yards from where I was standing was Hwoarang, my ex boyfriend, in all his glory (and in the flesh!), attacking his punching bag with different variations of kicks. Oh. My. God. What the fuck was I meant to do now?! Sure, it was bad enough in failing to get him off my mind, but actually _seeing _him was even worse. I haven't seen him since when we broke up that night two weeks back so I wasn't prepared for a situation like this...Fortunately Hwoarang didn't notice me gaping at him like an idiot so slowly, _very _slowly I started to back away from the entrance, making my escape. That's it, Asuka, you can do this! Just as I thought I was safe, I then heard him call out to me, catching my attention.

"Hey, there's no need to leave on the account that I'm here already."

Ah, drat! This is all I damn need...Also how _exactly _did he do that, catching me in the act when I was sneaking away? Frowning deeply, I marched back to see him staring directly at me with his sienna eyes, with his arms folded across his chest, not moving an inch, a boyish smile playing at his lips. Oh shit, just by laying my eyes on the dude made my skin break into a cold sweat. Hate to say this but I swear I could feel butterflies fluttering in my stomach, which was highly unusual for me as I wasn't so much a nervous person. Man, he looked soo _gorgeous_! His most cherished biker's goggles were raised up high on his head, resting a few inches above his hairline, his short spiky hair glistening in the light stemming in from the nearby window. His upper torso was covered by a leather red and black vest top with his bare arms on display, casually wearing black denim jeans as well as a pair of white trainers – Nike I presume. Now I remember why I fell madly in love with him in the first place...Wait a minute, I shouldn't be thinking this; I'm meant to be getting over this douchebag!

"What are you doing here?" I asked impatiently, annoyed at the fact that I was acting like a love-struck teenager. Before I reached into my pocket to switch off my music while taking out my earpiece to my headphones, I saw him shake his head slightly while clicking his tongue gently, chucking lowly to himself. So much for listening to my music while training on my own, I thought, as I roughly forced the headphones into my pocket...

"Since I last checked the gym _is _a free place, duh!" Hwoarang said, a hint of sarcasm, _maybe _even humour in his voice. Playfully he titled his head slightly to one side, his eyes lighting up as he checked me out. "Anyway I could use some company right now."

A laugh came from him when I rolled my eyes up heavenward; such a delightful sound it was. I took a few steps forward, heading to an untaken punching bag while trying to maintain my distance from him.

"Whatever," I murmured as I passed by him, coming to stop at my chosen punching bag. Turning my head to my left, I looked over at him to find he was smashing his fists into the bag, making it move ever so slightly with every punch being thrown. "I'm surprised that Steve isn't here with you. Have you two fallen out or something?"

"Nah! He's on a date with Christie as it's their two years anniversary today," he explained, gracefully raising his right leg in a roundhouse kick, successfully hitting its target.

Ah, so that would explain why the British Boxer wasn't here then by his best friend's side. I couldn't help but to sulk momentarily to myself. Why did it appear that _everyone _was going on dates and not me? My train of thoughts were interrupted when Hwoarang spoke again – how irritating...

"Phoenix wasn't long in the gym, left about ten to fifteen minutes before you arrived here. Man, he's so easy to wind up! I kept on taking the piss outta him when he was boasting about being the best in the universe, saying shit about defeating aliens from outer space or something. He fucking stormed out of here, heh."

Typical! I made a low growl at the back of my throat. "As much as I'm not too keen on Paul myself, there is absolutely no need for your immature behaviour. Do us both a favour and go screw yourself!"

At that precise moment he broke his concentration, turning his body at an angle so he stood facing me, legs wide apart from one another. I narrowed my eyes back at him, daring him to say something, _anything_! A couple of seconds flew by quickly and still Hwoarang didn't say a word, not breaking his silence. Quietly beaming to myself over my apparent victory, I slid into my fighting stance, clenching my hands into tight fists, pulling my right hand backwards, ready to unleash a blow, putting all my strength into my arm...Unfortunately the fuckwit took this as an opportunity to distract me once again.

"I'd rather you screw me instead," came the teasing remark, followed by the unmistakable sound of a kiss being blown. "That was your job, remember? Or have you forgotten what sex feels like?"

My eye started to twitch violently as with my raised arm, I unclenched my fisted hand, managing to give him the finger in response to his disgusting comment. My reaction caused him to grin that devilish smile of his, cheekily winking at me before resuming his training as if nothing had happen. Per-fucking-verted! Still I should have known better that he would make a sexual innuendo like that. Come on, this is Hwoarang that we're talking about here, not a monk! For some strange reason I felt flustered as his sly words had hit a raw nerve. To be honest I haven't been laid for such a long while now, not since I broke up with Hwoarang. I admit the sex has always been fantastic between us and he would tend to my needs before his; the epitome of a perfect lover. Great, now I was thinking about him _naked_! I shook my head to firmly get rid of the erotic images in my head, trying my damn best to focus at the task at hand. And when I was finished I'll make sure to take a shower, a really cold shower.

It wasn't before long that my training had commenced. I gave it all I had, never holding back, allowing myself to be wild as I want to be as I lashed out, channelling my energy and strength through my body. The punching bag heavily whooshed back and forth, from left to right, as I unleashed torrents of attacks, never stopping to catch my breath. Whoever says a woman can't fight is damn wrong as they haven't encountered me in a fight...Back in my hometown of Osaka, from an early age I was taught in the art of Kazama-style Traditional Martial Arts by my father who owned a dojo. As I was a strong believer in justice I saw fit in breaking up fights, defending those who were weak or who lacked courage to stand up for themselves. Because of this I was respected amongst my fellow students. Trust me, I had a feisty attitude, not to mention a fierce temper on me – I was a force to be reckoned with some people would tell me. The trouble with Hwoarang and I is that we're much _too _alike. We both spoke our minds freely, do what the hell we wanted to and defended ourselves either in hand to hand combat or any verbal disagreements. That was why I was his so-called perfect match. In life, yes but love, no.

Within the next five minutes or so, I heard the sound of footsteps approaching me, no doubt it was Hwoarang coming over to put me off or something. Well tough, I wasn't going to let him to get to me. I could sense his presence straight away, could feel the heat radiating off his body as he stood closer to me. Glancing rapidly at him, I noticed Hwoarang quirked one eyebrow, whistling out of sheer admiration.

"Damn, Asuka," he drawled smoothly. "With the way you're carrying on like that you're gonna break the hinges of that punching bag, making it fall down."

"Ha, can't you see I'm practicing right now, Hwo?" Instantly I regretted calling him by his nickname – what a slip-up! "Uh, I mean _Hwoarang_."

"If you say so, Suka," he softly said, referring to the nickname he gave me during our relationship.

I inwardly cursed myself, but at the same time my body was slightly tingling all over. However that didn't deter me from my training as I continued striking the bag. A punch here. A kick there. More than once I peered from the corner of my eye to see him still standing there much to my surprise. What in the world was he playing at? A few times I was tempted to _accidentally _miss my target thus punching Hwoarang (preferably in the face), knocking him onto his ass. Then when he started spluttering I'd say sweetly "_Oops, sorry_" with a sarcastic grin plastered on my face. On the other hand I don't think he'd appreciate that, mostly likely to get in a shouting match with me.

"Listen, can we talk about what happened between us? You know, the break up."

"Huh?" I was too startled to do anything and as a result the punching bag moved towards me, hitting me directly on the side of my face. Hwoarang reached out to catch the bag with both strong hands, stopping it immediately for me. I put my hands on my hips so he wouldn't get the impression that what he said didn't affect me when embarrassingly it did.

"Why do you want to talk about it now?" I demanded, running a hand through my short dark hair. "We had a discussion that night if you fail to remember."

"Heh, you consider raising our voices as a _discussion_? Girl, get serious!" he exclaimed, throwing his hands in from what I assumed was exasperation, snorting arrogantly. "There was plenty of shouting on both our parts, and it was so loud that it could have woken everyone up in the fucking hotel. And when I was leaving you had the nerve to throw a –" He broke off for a second, looking as if he contemplating something. "Actually I don't know what the hell you threw at me, but it sure as hurt like hell despite how small it was."

"It was a tennis ball."

"A tennis ball?" A dumbfounded look appeared on his face as what I said slowly sank in. "Oh, how original...Next thing I expect is for me to play fetch with you."

"That was all I could get my hands on at the time so zip it!" I hissed through my teeth, feeling _this _close to losing it with the stubborn bastard. This reminded me of the early days when the previous tournament had started. Every time we passed one another we would make snide remarks in the hopes of one of us would get pissed off.

"Ooohh, looks like someone is suffering from a severe case of PMS," Hwoarang taunted, gazing downwards at the floor before raising his eyes to stare at me once again, but this time the look was unyielding.

"Funny, you said the same thing that night," I retorted, squaring up to him. There was no way in hell he was going to win, I was gonna make sure of it. "Anyway you're much happier with that Miss Goody Two Shoes as she was all over you when you two were together. I mean, really, I have no idea why I dated you in the first place. Was I nothing but an accessory to you, huh?"

"Why would you even think that?" he asked me, the anger in his voice completely vanished. Hwoarang reached out a hand to touch me but before he made contact, I slapped his hand away like he was nothing more than a fly. "You know what I feel for you – what I _did _feel for you – as I loved you for Christ's sake. Nothing happened between Lili and I...She just wanted someone to sort out Marduk for her as he was harassing her so I decided to help her out."

"Okay, so if that _did _happen then why the fuck didn't you admit it to me in the first place?"

"I tried to, but you didn't give me a chance at all as you were hell-bent in having a go at me that night. You know, Asuka, sometimes you have your head far up your own ass. Yes, it may annoy me but your feistiness matches mine in every way – that's why I was attracted to you."

Silence lingered in the air between us as we came to an unspoken agreement about what happened. My hands fell from my hips to my sides, not daring to say a word to him as he too was standing still, readjusting his goggles as somehow it slipped down further onto his forehead. A small part of me was pleased that Hwoarang didn't cheat on me with my rival, but still it didn't change matters. He perfectly understood that I hated that bitch's guts, that I avoided her at all costs unless it was in the arena then I would kick her ass there...Still I had to admit underneath that tough bad boy exterior maybe there was a gentleman. But rarely did he show that side (if it did exist) as naturally he was a rebel. It was as simple as that. I was brought back to reality when I felt his foot playfully nudged my shin, just a few inches above my ankle. Hwoarang gave me a small smile and stepped closer to me, appearing to be relaxed.

"So who are you up against this week?"

"Zafina, one of the new contestants." I paused. "And you?"

"Oh, I've got a matched lined up against Bob. Hell, I don't get it! How can a man who is large in size and weight can move _that _fast? Talk about unbelievable."

I shrugged, unfazed. "I heard that he wasn't fat all his life, he used to be rather slim. Ganryu is quite a hefty person, but that's because he is a sumo. So compared to Bob, his moves are slow."

"I swear Bob is the American version of Sammo Hung," Hwoarang commented before chuckling heartedly. "All Bob needs now is his own contract with a TV channel then he can appear in his own show."

I shook my head, feigning disapproval while trying hard to bite back a goofy smile. Trust him to say something like that...

"So are you coming to watch me in action?"

"I don't think so, Hwoarang."

"Why not?" he inquired, pinning me with such a look that spoke of his bewilderment. "Oh come on, Suka! When we were going out, we attended each other's matches, remember? Plenty of times you came to see me fight – you were my own personal little cheerleader. Wasn't that right, my raging spitfire?"

Furious, I glared at him. Oh, I can see where he was going!

"Hwoarang, if you think by bringing up the good old days is going to make me fall in love with you again then you're _damn _wrong! If someone paid me one thousand yen to go out with then I-!"

My words died a quick, sudden death as he brought his lips down, kissing me tenderly while his arms enclosed my waist, bringing me further to him. What the hell was I doing in his arms for? Come on, you have to fight back, Asuka! Unfortunately for some unknown reason, I just couldn't. My resistance was futile to say the least as I melted into his kiss. Oh, this was more than heaven...My arms travelled up until they found his collarbone and I wrapped them around his neck gently while one of my hands lazily caressed the hair at the back of his head. I was surprised when he pulled away a few seconds later, letting go of me completely while he had that look of _'You've been had' _on his smirking face. I could feel my cheeks slightly burning up right now.

"Wh-What? Why did you...?"

"You know well as much as I do that despite what you say, you obviously still fancy the pants of me," he told me smugly. "And I don't think you'll be needing this anymore."

It was then at that moment that he held up _my _MP3 player (with the headphones still in its place) in front of my face, tauntingly waving it from side to side in the hopes I would snatch it away from his grasp. How the hell did he manage to slip his hand into my pocket, taking away the MP3 player without my knowing?! Resisting the urge to tackle him onto the ground and throttling him until he gives it back to me, calmly I stuck out my hand with the palm firmly facing upwards.

"Give it back to me," I commanded in a low voice.

Hwoarang done the opposite to what I said and I was astonished to see him turn his back to me, heading straight for the door. As he was walking, he began speaking.

"Nah see, that would be easy, wouldn't it? You'll get it back only on _one _condition – that you would go out on a date with me." Stopping, he turned his head back to glance at me, his smirk now a wide triumphant grin. "Tomorrow night."

"YOU ASSHOLE!" I screamed at his retreating back, stomping my foot in the process while he left the gym laughing loudly.

**A/N: **lol, poor Asuka, huh? Ah well, she had it coming to her! Oh, and since today is one of my best friend's 23rd birthday this one-shot is dedicated to them. HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!


End file.
